Balloon Heaven
by TheRockNRollBeauty
Summary: "In the past, he had always used stories to pacify Alfred, tales weaved with vivid depictions of heroes and magical lands and princesses, the standard storybook fare embellished with Ivan's own personal flair." Family story with daddy!Ivan and child!Al.


**Daddy!Ivan and child!Alfred are really, really cute.**

**Anyway, I got the idea from a couple of stories that my dad used to tell me as a kid, and I thought it'd be really sweet to put into fic format. :) I hope you like it!**

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><p>Anyway so I decided to write something for this weeks fantasy thing based on stories that my dad would tell me as a kid…this isn't the one I'm writing for the comm, but it's another story idea that I found absolutely adorable.<p>

Shopping was always somewhat of a chore, especially when Ivan brought Alfred along. This was primarily because the boy always wanted him to buy each and every colorful confection that he laid his eyes on, and all too often Ivan would have to concede because of that wide, doe-eyed look that his son would give when Ivan would tell him "no" the first time. Ivan knew he shouldn't spoil the boy like that, but when Alfred would hug his leg and laugh whenever Ivan agreed to buy the giant box of chocolate chip cookies, his heart would melt and all he wanted was to see more of that smile and that happiness.

Finally, after realizing that their grocery baskets were full to bursting, Ivan took Alfred's hand and led the boy over to the registers near the front of the store. Despite the boy's exuberance, Alfred was always rather well-behaved, helping his "dada" load the groceries onto the register's moving belt, almost falling over when he grabbed onto a box of snacks more than half his size. Ivan chuckled and took the giant carton from his son's tiny hands, assigning Alfred to the smaller items and the few bags of fruits and vegetables.

As Ivan made small talk with the cashier ringing up their groceries, Alfred stared upwards, attention and bright eyes caught by the shiny red balloons floating above the register. He tugged at Ivan's sleeve and pointing.

"Dad! Daddy, can I haf a balloon?" He poked his dad in the side, bobbing up and down on his sneakered feet. Ivan looked down as he handed the cashier his credit card, fond smile on his face as he rubbed Alfred's head with a free hand.

"Sunflower, I don't know if those are for sale."

Fortunately, the women working the register was kind enough to take down one of the display balloons and hand it to Alfred who, gleefully grasped the red thread in his chubby little hand. Ivan reminded Alfred to act grateful and the boy smiled widely up at his present and chirped a quick "thank you," tugging at the balloon and watching it bob up and down.

Ivan had barely lifted up the bulging bags of groceries over his strong shoulders before Alfred was off, jumping and running towards the sliding doors of the exit, balloon jerking and bobbing as it trailed behind him.

"Alfred!" He called, quickly following his son, "Alfred, slow down! Don't run so fast, you might trip-"

Alfred didn't fall or trip, but, the boy, in his childlike excitement, had forgotten to keep a firm hold onto his new balloon. The moment he was outside of the grocery store, his fingers loosened on accident and the ribbon slipped between his tiny fingers.

The boy let out a little noise of surprise as the balloon floating away, jumping and grasping for the string as it floated out of reach.

Alfred looked up with wide eyes as the red globe twirled up above the roof of the supermarket, his hand still outstretched from where he had tried to grab onto the balloon.

"Alfred?"

Ivan came up beside his son, confused at why the boy had suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes traveled to where Alfred was looking, and saw the small red splotch of the balloon as it bobbed and twirled, already high up in the sky.

"Oh, sunflower," Ivan sighed sadly, "You have to hold on to those."

Alfred lowered his hand to his side and looked up at his dad. The boy's lip quivered, his eyes glistening and watery. Before Ivan could do anything, Alfred burst into tears.

"Alfred-"

Ivan shrugged the heavy grocery bags further up on his arms and knelt by Alfred, one hand cupping the already red and tearstained cheek.

"Oh, Alfred, it's okay, it's okay."

The little boy let out a pitiful little wail as he rubbed his eyes with his small fists, smearing the freshly sprung tears over his cheeks.

"D-Dad-"

Ivan hummed and pulled Alfred a little closer, trying to bring the boy down from his distress.

"Hush, it's okay."

Alfred shook his head from side to side, drips of tears and snot falling from his chin.

"B-But-he was mine and and I was going to t-take care of him and n-now he's all s-s-s-sad and I feel b-bad. 'Cause I _lost_ him and-a-and-" Alfred breath came in wet sniffles as he scrunched his face up tight, lip stuck out as he tried to stop the tears.

Ivan frowned at the boy's crying, and gently picked Alfred up in his arms, carrying the boy out of the flow of the traffic in front of the door and over to a bench nearby the store's entrance. Setting down the bags of food, he sat down with Alfred in his lap, cradling the sniffling child in his arms, trying to calm him. He wracked his brain for a way to soothe Alfred, knowing from experience that once the boy started to cry, it would take a long time for him to stop on his own.

In the past, he had always used stories to pacify Alfred, tales weaved with vivid depictions of heroes and magical lands and princesses-the standard storybook fare embellished with Ivan's own personal flair. But none of those stories seemed particularly appropriate to calm Alfred in his current distress.

Ivan worried his lip under his teeth, wary that Alfred's incessant crying was drawing attention from other customers. Suddenly, he remembered something-a story that he had thought of on his own, back when he was an imaginative and precocious child himself.

"Alfred," He cooed gently, finger slipping under the distressed boy's chin to tilt his face up, "Do not be so sad about losing your balloon."

Alfred looked up, his bottom lip still quivering, but his watery eyes not without a glint of curiosity.

"W-why?"

Ivan brushed his thumb over his son's cheek, wiping away the warm wetness.

"Because. Your balloon is not gone forever, sunflower," Ivan smiled down at Alfred, "Do you want to know where your balloon went?"

"D-do you mean a story?"

"Yes. But I don't believe I've told you this one before. It is special."

He shifted the boy a little, until Alfred's head was resting against his chest. His son's little hands pulled at Ivan's thick scarf, holding onto it for comfort and security.

"Have you ever heard of Balloon Heaven, Alfie?"

Alfred shook his head, tiny fist rubbing at one of his tearful eyes. Ivan settled one hand on Alfred's head, gently stroking his hair.

"N-No…What is it?"

Ivan continued to rub the back of Alfred's head as the boy snuggled closer, as he would do whenever Ivan told stories to get Alfred to go to sleep after a bad dream.

"You see, sunflower, it is a place where all balloons go when they are let go by young children. And all these balloons, when they float away into the sky, have a special place up there that they go to, just for them."

Alfred blinked his large eyes and tugged on Ivan's scarf.

"H-how do they know where to go?"

Ivan smiled at the question, and at his son's inquisitive nature. Alfred wasn't disbelieving-he only had that simple curiosity typical of a young child.

"The winds know which way to blow to direct the balloons-as they have been doing this for many years, guiding the lost balloons to safety."

Alfred had calmed down significantly by this point, an occasional sniff the only indication of his previous distress. The look on his face was now one of intense interest, completely fascinated by Ivan's story. Encouraged, Ivan continued.

"The winds lead all the lost balloons to a special place in the sky, hidden from jets and airplanes and human eyes by a huge white cloud. And inside of that cloud there are fields and fields of balloons, all floating-all different colors, shapes and sizes, all flying together in the sky."

He rocked the boy gently back and forth, soothing and slow as he drew the story to a close.

"And all the balloons-all the balloons from all over the world, even those from centuries back-live there in peace and safety and happiness."

Ivan shifted Alfred a little further up in his arms, so he cold lean down and kiss the boy on the forehead.

"And they never forget those brave little children who set them free in the first place."

Alfred's eyes grew as he turned his head to look up at the sky. The balloon was nothing more than a small pinprick in the sky, nearly indiscernible against the sea of blue.

"S-so-he's happy now?"

Ivan ruffled Alfred's hair, the goal of the story seeming to be at a head.

"Yes," Ivan put his hands under Alfred's armpits and lifted the boy up, turning him slightly so he could sit sideways on Ivan's legs.

"O-okay," Alfred nodded, raised his little hand and waved up at the balloon, Ivan smiling and joining in to give the boy's balloon a proper goodbye.

After the balloon disappeared completely out of sight, Ivan got up from the bench, lifting Alfred off his lap and setting the young boy back on the ground.

Ivan bent to pick up the groceries, slinging the heavy bags over his arm as he gently took Alfred's hand.

"Do you feel better now, sunflower?"

Alfred looked up and nodded, his eyes much less tearful and swollen than they had been before. Ivan smiled and ran a thumb over the boy's pudgy little hand, giving it a little tug as he began walking back into the parking lot.

Once he got to the car, he loaded the groceries into the trunk before picking up Alfred and buckling him into the backseat.

"Dad?" Alfred spoke up as Ivan finished clicking the seatbelt into place.

"Yes, sunflower?"

Alfred rested his head on Ivan's forearm, keeping his father there for a moment as he replied.

"When I grow up, I wanna be an astronaut and explore space and stuff."

This was not a surprise to Ivan. Alfred had been fascinated by space ever since Ivan had let him watch the first few Star Wars movies a year or so back. After that, the little boy had been enamored with anything to do with astronauts, space, or astronomy.

"Really, Alfred?"

But it wasn't Alfred's childhood dream of exploring space that made Ivan halt and listen to the boy.

"Yeah, but not just for science-y stuff. Also 'cause I wanna find the place where all da balloons go. I'm going to find it and I'm gonna look through them and find mine even if it takes me furever."

It appeared the child had already taken the story to heart. Ivan felt a warm bloom in the chest at the utter sincerity and determination in Alfred's face as he looked up at him. It was somewhat extraordinary how quickly and deeply Alfred internalized such things. Even something as inanimate and insignificant as a lost balloon seemed to inspire his young son. And Alfred-Alfred truly was special in that regard.

Ivan leaned in and kissed his son on the forehand again, with utter fondness and affection for his son, his sunflower.

_"I know that you will."_

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><p><strong>I feel daddy Ivan would be a really good storyteller. Ahh, I felt like I could have ended this better. :| But I hoped you all enjoyed the cuteness anyway! Thanks for reading. :)<strong>


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